There are many preconceptions that have been passed around about manufacturing from China, many completely misrepresented in social and mainstream media outlets. Below are some of the most common myths we hear most about.
Myth 1: My company is too small to source from China
While many factories in China are built for production, we have found that they are perfectly willing to work with smaller companies. As long as the order is larger than their $10,000 general minimum, they are happy to accommodate any orders. The size of the company isn’t a factor with the factories we work with at all.
Myth 2: China only delivers poor quality products.
Negative reviews hold much more weight than positive ones, and they also tend to hold more prominence. While there are factories in China that will cut corners to get orders finished, the majority do value quality control. China wouldn’t be one of the leading exporter of goods if everything they made didn’t work.
Some factories specialize in producing luxury goods, while others focus more on general products. It’s important to be specific with your supplier on the materials and standards you need for your items.
Myth 3: Chinese companies will steal my intellectual property
This has really only been a cause for concern if you don’t know who you are dealing with. Blindly entering into a contract with a company you haven’t checked out, researched, or built a relationship with is a disaster in any company. Yes, some less than reputable companies have ran off with people’s ideas and producing or selling them. But this has become less of an issue over the years as China has been implementing new regulations to curtail this kind of behavior.
We have spent decades building relationships with the factories in our network, and make them sign exclusive manufacturing agreements where they are bound to protect your ideas.
Myth 4: Chinese factory conditions are horrible
While it is true that some factories in China could be compared to sweatshops, the reality is that since global trade has continued to grow, conditions have improved as well. There is always room for improvement, but over the years, millions of Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty from increased trade, and as global awareness becomes more and more prevalent, so has worker conditions. They may not be quite on par with factories in the west, but they are in general making changes to improve conditions gradually.
Wages have been increasing, most factories have windows and proper ventilation, and the quality of life has continued to get better.
Want to learn more about sourcing from China? Check out our other blog posts.